San Diego County Notifying Restaurants of $4.5 Million in Permit Fee Refunds

San Diego County began notifying restaurants Thursday of $4.5 million in permit fee refunds for the period of March 16, 2020 through June 15 of this year — the result of a recent settlement in a lawsuit brought by a local restaurant group.

The class action settlement was for all restaurants and limited food preparation facilities that paid or were required to pay annual permit fees to the County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality.

It provides a 50% refund of annual permit fees to restaurants that paid, and 50% credit to those that owe annual permit fees. It also waives late fees for untimely payment of permit fees that were due through that time period, as long as the fees are paid within 12 months of the original due date or by December 31, 2021, whichever is sooner.

The amount is in addition to $118.9 million already provided to restaurants by the County Board of Supervisors to help offset the impact of California’s stay-at-home and local public health orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. READ MORE